How is it that dogs can make piddlin’ on the floor when you finally get home seem almost cute?  Oh those urinaters-of-great-frequency, shedders-of-immense-amounts-of-hair, barkers of great annoyance—don’t we love them?  And aren’t we predictable about how much we love them?  We buy pups adorable doggy dishes with tiny paw prints on them, and then we feed him from our own plate—we get up at ungodly hours to let Fido out, then reward him diligently with a scoobie snack.  We let Jules curl up on the leather couch and sleep on our freshly made bed…

And aren’t the whole lot of them predictable, too—tails waggin’, bodies wigglin’, fetchin’ their doggy toys and bringing them into the bathroom where they know they have a captive audience. 

And if we could change only a few things about our lovable pets, it may only be to suggest leaving the cat’s food alone before she eats it or after she throws it up, resisting the urge to roll in smelly dead fish, keeping their heads out of the refrigerator and the toilet… 

We know that being canine requires very little effort; entertainment consists simply of sniffing, licking, rolling, chasing… And we adore them for their and ability to find great joy in the simplest things in life—those cute canines, lovable lugs…aren’t we lucky to have them in our lives?

If you’re a dog lover—this little video will certainly make you giggle!

“Mrs. Welding, are you afraid of heights?”

“Ummm…. No…”

“Well, your zipper sure is!” 

Ha ha. Hilarious. Real funny.  NOT.  Middle schoolers love to kid around, tease, pull a prank—but most of all, they love to see you sweat.  They love to laugh AT their teachers… 

*I am so excited to be home, hangin’ out with my homies… My bestest friend is also a teacher—she even took over my classroom when I left last spring.  Visiting her on my vacation has been the best.  She shared with me an incident that happened to her last week at work.* 

8th graders are funny and smart.  Just ask them.  They are also very observant.  They notice your clothes, and they will tell you if you need to pluck your eyebrows or iron your shirt.  They also know that Janie’s 2nd grade teacher’s neighbor’s  daughter’s BFF has a crush on the boy that’s in your third period class that sits in the third row, second seat from the back.  However, they won’t tell you if you are wearing your lunch on your face or if you accidentally left a dry cleaning tag on the outside of your shirt—they won’t tell you because they think it’s funny.  They know it all—they see it all—they love to laugh.  

Case in point.  Kyla—my BFF—was preparing a lesson using the DVD player, requiring that she turn her back to her class several times over several class periods because she was having trouble getting it to play. 

Every time she turned her back and leaned over to reach the player behind the television, she heard the kids snickering.  Turn. Snickers. Turn. Giggles. Turn. Chuckles.  At least three times she turned around, and at least three times her students began laughing.   First period.  Second period.  Now third period.  She noticed that the 3 boys in the front row were particularly red in the face... 

“What , what?  What is it you’re laughing at?”

“Mrs. W, you have a rip in your pants.”

“What?”  *internal scream*  Flashback to all those dreams where you've somehow made it to work naked...

After feeling around her backside  she confirmed her worst fear—she had split her pants—God knows how, she’s like a size two…  This wasn’t  any old rip; however, the rip was the size of a small watermelon—from the top of her pocket to the crotch of her pants.  I’m. not. kidding.

Boxers or briefs?  Eh hem... I mean,  big mama’s or dental floss?  Yep, you guessed it.  No boy shorts, folks… Poor, poor dear…   She’s feeling a little haunted by the experience: her friends won’t let her live this one down…

“Nice thigh hat, Ky!”

“You must have invested well, you sure have nice assets…hee hee”

Cute post padder babe…

Do fries come with that shake, Ky?  
 

What a lovely idea... Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday.

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day to take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So Kailani at An Island Life started Aloha Fridays in order to take it easy with posting too.

It's easy to play along. I ask a simple question and you give a simple answer!

After you answer my question, post a question on your own blog and leave your link over at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

Today’s question is:


Where is your favorite place to be?

P.S.  Courtesy of Frogmama and her book with ideas for stumped writers, I will be taking on an embarrassing work situation for my next post--don't get to excited; I'll be using my best friends most embarrassing moment...  Stay tuned!

Woe is me!  I have bloggers' block...  I've been waiting for something extraordinary--who am I kiddin'--even ordinary to happen... Something that I could glean anything from to blog about--and....nada!  So I am going to leave you with a few interesting facts--and if you have any good blogging ideas for me you creative bloggers, please... PLEASE leave them in the comments. Anything at all--you name it, I'll blog it. (Well, almost anything...) I would blog about the trials and tribulations of visiting family, but the famdamily reads my blog :)  (Eh hem...check back in a few days readers...)

Here goes--these incredibly interesting facts came from InterestingFacts.org  For many more kinda interesting, totally irrelevant facts, check them out...

LYING: Lying is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of "ums" and "ahs," overly defensiveness, lack of eye contact.  Lying is stressful; liars will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.  You can also check if someone is lying by "norming" their responses.  Where do their eyes move when they are telling the truth about something--ask a few questions about past memories. Watch where the eyes go... If your subject is lying, his or her eyes will move in the opposite direction than when telling the truth.  My fail proof method not to get caught lying is  simple: DON'T LIE...

FACEBOOK: Facebook was originally named TheFaceBook and it was developed by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. The first use of the FaceBook was on the Harvard campus and it was limited only to Harvard students. Soon the FaceBook spread like wild fire around the other major U.S. Universities. Mark Zuckerberg dropped the Harvard and pursued his facebook dream to become one of the 4th most-trafficked websites in the world with more than 90 million active users. The FaceBook website is built on PHP-MySQL technology, and it is probably the most popular PHP website ever built. Interesting fact is that the facebook.com domain was purchased for $200,000 and FaceBook has more than 24 million photos uploaded daily.  How do you feel about FaceBook?  I'm scared I'd get too addicted, so I haven't signed up yet...

Equine Mating:When a female horse and a male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule, but when a male horse and a female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny. When a male zebra and a female donkey mate the offspring is called a ‘zedonk’ or ‘zebrass’. All of these resulting offspring are sterile (can't have babies).   Hmmmm.... Too bad--was wonderin' what would happen when a hinny and zedonk mate...

Warning:  This blog post may be removed at any time if a more interesting or random post comes to mind (doubtful...don't hold your breath).

Thank you readers for being so loyal and humoring me during my times of sheer blogging anxiety--love ya!

Hangin' with cousins is so much fun! 

Stacy from Stacy’s Random Thoughts has a new idea that's groovin’  around the blogosphere.  She provides you with a letter—you select words that begin with that letter and blog about it…  Well, I know that there are probably more rules, but I forgot them (imagine...), and now I can’t find her original post—so what the heck—since she assigned me a letter, I’ll just go for it!

 

N…  N is one of my favorite letters—it begins my name:  Nicole (okay…duh.)  But N is a much more important letter than we might give it credit for at first glance… I mean, without N, we wouldn’t have nepotism…  niceties… And don’t forget about NOPE—what would we do without NOPE?   Without N, Noggin would be oggi, and nice would be ice.  Without N we wouldn’t even have non:  nonsensical, noncommittal,  nonny—how would I describe hubbs?  

We wouldn't have nonillion that’s 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (written numerically).  What would come after 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999? Not nonillion...  Sure, there are some N words I could live without, like nobody and nothing. We don't like to hang out with nobody, and who wants nothing for Christmas? And admittedly, I wouldn’t cry without niblick, although hubbs might disagree…

So without further adieu, here is my list of N words that strike my fancy.

N is for nautier… Nautier just seems, well, a bit nautier than naughty…  How about naughtiest?  I’m saving that one for you-know-who.

N is for near-wreck…  Explanation really needed?

N is for never.  Eh hem… a little angel’s favorite word—never, never, never, never…

N is for noon—Of course, it’s always noon somewhere…

N is for nosh—Noshiness is next to Godliness—right?

N is for nipperkin—I just like the way it sounds. Nipperkin, nipperkin, nipperkin, nipperkin.

N is for noodle…  I like noodle because you can add a word to it for effect “noodlehead.” Plus, it’s just funny…

WeNis—okay, you caught me, wenis starts with a W, not an N. Wenis is the rough skin that bunches up around your elbow— Wenis--*hee hee*

What would we do with out N?

Ad there you have it!  A ot-so-relevat post about a very importat letter.

Stacy from Stacy’s Random Thoughs had this tag posted on her blog—given that I am visiting family and have about two minutes a day to blog—this is perfect;  so when she invited her readers to copy it and put it on their blogs, I took the bait!  It took me a few minutes to complete.  How nice is that!?!  (Now you know one additional thing about me—I like to keep it simple…)

Go ahead and join us—grab the list and start blogging away!

The instructions are to bold all the things that you have done on the list...


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28.Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34.Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud... many, many times!
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Any surprises?  If you want a fun and easy blogging idea—grab it and go!

I’ve noticed as I make my way around the blogosphere that many of you are working at losing a few of those holiday pounds—I am too—so when I found this New Year’s exercise program in my email this morning, I thought, now this is an exercise program I can stick with… 

 

 

New Year's Exercise Program

 

I tried it, I liked it, you will too! Go easy and don't hurt yourself!

 

 
The older we get the more important it is to incorporate exercise into our daily routine. This is necessary to maintain cardiovascular health and maintain muscle mass.

If you're over 40, you might want to take it easy at first, then do more repetitions as you become more proficient and build stamina.




Warning: It may be too strenuous for some.




Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program!




SCROLL DOWN...









































NOW SCROLL UP


That's enough for the first day.  Great job.

Have a glass of wine.

There are specific things you should always do when traveling by air with a young one.  The very first rule that you should never ever, under any circumstances forget about is rule number one.  Do not forget to pack all four of babes' favorite blankies—ALL OF THEM.  Forgetting this simple rule can result in late arrival to the airport because you WILL end up returning home for them. 

Rule number two…  Arrive at the airport EARLY—plan for plenty of time to spare.  This seems pretty simple if you’ve accounted for bungling the baby blanket bag—but you may also need extra time to A. take the stairs if babes won’t get on the elevator.  B. reassure the little one that the suitcases that you just handed off to the airline attendant--the suitcases with all of her clothes, toys, necessities--that these suitcases will actually show up on the other end when you get off of the plane—they’re not stealing them.  C. buy gum, water, the newest  TY Beanie Baby, French fries, and the new People issue with President Obama on it.  D. say good bye to Daddy.

If Daddy is staying at home, and you are traveling with the babes alone, rule number 3 will definitely apply. 

Rule number three…  Don’t show up to your departure gate just as they are boarding first class ticket holders and travelers with young children.  Babes will not be ready to get on the plane.  She will begin to panic realizing that this is the moment that she has to say goodbye to Daddy, and she will begin her hugs and kisses routine.  This requires counting kisses from 1 to 35 (at which point you suggest she moves on to hugs).  By the time you get to 35 hugs, she’s beginning to cry.  Once general boarding begins, her crying turns to sobbing and the snot begins to stream down her face.  She is clinging to Daddy like Mariah Carey’s clothes.  There is no consoling her, and she demands to call Grandma and tell her that she is not coming. NEVER.  Now, not only is babes weeping, but so are several women standing near by that are witnessing the emotional breakdown of your daughter. 

Rule number 4… Do not tell her that she’ll see Daddy in 10 short days—do not bring up the fact that she can call Daddy whenever she wants to (she’ll undoubtedly remember this in her hysteria and ask to call him as soon as you take one step onto the ramp, during take off,  while cruising, during landing, and after). 

Rule number 5… If you’ve screwed up every rule to this point, you’ll have to succumb to desperate measures.  You will have to tell babes that Daddy will be on the next plane and will be joining the family soon.  This will ultimately be the only way that they will hold the plane long enough for you to get on.

Rule number 6…  Say thank you to the nice man that offered to take your bags on the plane as you pried your daughter off of Daddy so that you could lug the forty pounder down the ramp. 

Rule number 7…  Don’t bother trying to console her with the blankets that you brought in her baby bag; the bag has already been loaded 10 rows beyond your seat because while you were handling the departure debacle, the luggage bins were filling up all around your assigned seat. The flight attendant inevitably has to find an available spot for your bag—such a skillfully situated spot that it was near impossible to find in the 30 second cushion of time you have before take off.

Rule number 8…  Make sure you have correct change...  FYI, wine costs $4.

>

I adore this idea!  I was stopping over at Stacy's Random Thoughts, one of my favorite blogs, and lookie what I found!  It's a new Friday meme--and technically it's still Friday here, so I'm gonna play along. 

Here it is!
Every Friday let's share our favorite/unforgettable moments as a mom through posting pictures. You can include a brief story about your picture. We will have a theme for each week. January 9 : Family picture taken during the last holiday seasonJanuary 16 : First photo of your kid/sJanuary 23 : Latest birthday photo of your kid/sJanuary 30 : First smile of your kid/s

Okay, I'm a little late joining this one--story of my life...  I'm actually on the road visiting family, so I don't have all my pictures with me--but I do have some of the first pictures I took of Kate.  With that in mind... Here's my angel!

The above picture was taken minutes after Kate's birth...  She is perfect.  Beautifully perfect.

The picture below was taken seconds after her birth.  I know, I look like a chipmunk--that's what eating ice cream and bologna sandwiches for 9 months will do to you (I have no excuse for the bangs...)  This was absolutely the best day of my life.  I think there were 9 people in the room with me when I gave birth to little Kate (not including doctor, doctor-in-training, nurses, etc.)  It was packed venue, but in a good way. 

Mama was so proud! (And still is!)  We had tried for so many years to have a little Kate, and go figure, once we gave up trying, along she came!  There isn't anything in the world that can compare to being a mommy--I am so grateful to have her! 

Next week's Mommy Moments is first smiles of your children--you know I have a photo of that!  If you want to join in, grab the code at The Mommy Journey and sign up on Mr. Linky.  You can also stop back here or even head over to Stacy's Random Thoughts, too! 


I also received an award from Stacy's Random Thoughts--how lucky am I?  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

This Award is presented to bloggers who display consistency in any one or a combination of these conditions:

The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.
The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.
There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.
The Blog is refreshing and creative.
The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps:

Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.
Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older Post to support.
The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.

Thank you so much Stacy--for thinking of me for this special award.  I would like to pass this award on to Little Miss Hannah...

If you haven't stopped by this blog--you have to.  Here is a bit about Little Miss Hannah...

Hannah was born on July 2008. After birth, she had an enlarged spleen, very low platelets, and an enlarged liver. After many months of tests to try and find a diagnosis, a skin biopsy has diagnosed her with Gaucher's Disease, Type 3, a disease with neurological and physical involvement and a life-expectancy of 15 to 20 years or so. This blog started the day she was born and is now helping the fight to save her life... (More...)

Hannah is simply beautiful--awareness of this terrible disease is so important. Because of its rarity, awareness is crucial in finding a cure.  Please take a few minutes and stop by Little Miss Hannah...